The Liberate NITRO 2 is a lightweight shoe designed for shorter-distance sessions and racing. The lean design combines a thin mono-mesh upper with an updated NITRO foam midsole built to be firmer than the first version.
That nitrogen-injected midsole aims to produce a responsive ride and a modest level of cushioning. The brand’s popular PUMAGRIP rubber covers the outsole for increased traction and durability, and there are reflective elements for added visibility at night.
Tom’s been testing the shoe out to see if it’s worth investing in.
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00:00 – Intro
00:15 – Stats
00:26 – Design
01:02 – How’s the Fit?
01:54 – The Run Test
07:42 – Should You Buy It?
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Hey Tommy from the Run testers within a Running shoe review in this video I'm Going to be taking a look at the Puma Liberate Nitro 2. let's take a look [Music] The Pima liberate Nitro 2 costs 105 Pounds or 120 weighs in 203 grams or 7.1 Ounces for men in the size 8 and the Drop is six millimeters Deliberate Nitro 2 is a lightweight shoe Designed for shorter distance sessions And racing the lean design combines a Thin mono mesh upper with an updated Nitro foam midsole built to be firmer Than the first version that nitrogen Injected midsole aims to produce a Responsive ride and a modest level of Cushioning the Brand's popular Puma grip Rubber covers the outsole for increased Traction and durability and there are Reflective elements for added visibility At night the latest version also Features a minimal increase in the Amount of midsole cushioning to improve Comfort and energy return [Music] Fit for me in the shoes so I'm a size Eight this shoe is a size eight uh I Found it completely fine Um there was a little bit of room in the Toe box for me not loads I think the Thing about this shoe is that it's Designed for Speed it's designed to be Lean and not have loads of excess
Features and padding and stuff on it so It's a pretty it's a pretty lean shoe um And I don't have a particularly wide fee I don't have narrow fit either I sort of Sit in the middle and I found it quite Comfortable but if you did have wider Feet you might have an issue with this Shoe because it's a bit bit more narrow Than uh some of the other shoes in the Puma lineup and so keep that in Consideration didn't have any issues With the toe box though I felt that There was plenty of space in the toe box It's mainly around the midfoot section That I found it a bit narrow Um but I would I would definitely say That the size 8 that I've got is perfect For my size eight feet in the UK Foreign About 50k in this shoe it's quite a Tricky shoe to do a lot of distancing Because it's not really designed for Longer distances it's a shoe that's Really focused on those shorter distance Training runs at speed and racing as Well Um the runs I've done in it have varied A bit I've done Um easy runs where my Pace was about Five minute kilometers Um and I have also done intervals track And a park run in this shoe and what I Found about it is that it it's a really Nice fast shoe
Um it is probably interestingly it's got A six minute beta drop I didn't really Feel that in this shoe it doesn't feel Like there's a big drop in it feels a Lot more minimal than that to me but There is a nice bit of cushioning in it Which was surprising I didn't think I'd Feel Um the level of cushioning that I got From this it's not massive it's not a Cushioned shoe it's definitely not a Shoe that you do lots and long distance Runs in Um well some people might but I wouldn't If you're a more General it's definitely Not sure you do daily training in or Long runs Um what I found is that over those easy Runs it was fine it's a pretty versatile Shoe I definitely wouldn't want to go Over 15K in this shoe it's just not Enough cushioning in it for me um and I Don't just wouldn't find it comfortable Over that distance Um you can really feel the ground with This shoe which is a big plus for some People not for me I like a bit more Padding in the shoe and this is probably As minimal of a shoe as I would go Um when I used it on track it was Fantastic really good track shoe Definitely a good shoe if you're the Sort of Runner that Um either doesn't like to use complex
Shoes or the sort of one of the lights Juice carbon plate rage shoes for racing Um but doesn't want to use them for Their training runs which is fairly Common these days a lot of people don't Like to use their complex shoes for Training sessions Um so if that's you then this is great Because it's really it's a fast shoe It's very light it's very Nimble Um on track it just has a lovely pickup You can really pick up the pace nicely In there and it's just yeah just really Nice and light when I used it for park Run it was also great didn't quite get As good a time as I I'd normally get With my carbon plate shoes Um but I mean that's not necessarily the Shoe much been meal of the day but I Didn't enjoy it as much for partners I Do with my car and plate shoes I like to Have a little Bounce from the plate or The foam that's in those but it's great It's great great For Those runs and I Definitely if I was Using a non-complite shoe for park run Or a 5K race for 10K race this is a Great option for it it just feels very Light and Poppy on the feet and you can Really pick up the pace nicely Um for intervals and things like that It's very good as well you can really Pick up the pace nicely and when you're Doing these slower sections maybe you're
Having a two or three minute rest in Between intervals or something like that It's quite comfortable as well so you Don't feel like you've you're running Around on a slow bit in an uncomfortable Shoe you it has enough cushioning to Deal with that as well so it's a very Versatile shoe for that respect but I Only say it's versatile up to a level Because once you get for me past that Sort of 10K 15K Mark I I think I I Really want another shoe because I'm Just not getting the cushioning that I'd Want from my training shoes and a lot of The sessions that I'm doing at the Moment so if I'm doing interval session At the moment because I'm marathon Training for burning Marathon they tend To be quite long so an interval session For me would normally have quite a big Warm-up in it and quite a big cooldown In it so they do tend to be quite a bit Longer and I end up doing about 16 17K On some of them so I wouldn't use that Shoe for these track I tend to do about 35 minutes 40 minutes and it's perfect For that Um but yeah once it starts getting to Those bigger numbers Um I wouldn't use this shoe uh the Operator is very comfortable for me it's Very lean Um there's not a lot to it and Everything about this shoe is really
Designed to be lean it's just sort of Cleared out any unnecessary Fabrics Weight padding anything like that just To make the the weight of the shoe Really light Um but it doesn't skimp on it so you Don't end up with an uncomfortable shoe On off the back of it it's still very Comfortable there's just enough padding In the right places Um around the aquacal of the tongs got a Nice little bit of padding on it as well And overall it's it's it's a solid Balance shoe when it comes to that There's it's quite clever how the Padding and everything sort of fits Together there's a bit of power tape on It as well to give a bit more structure Around the top Um so it really does hold to the foot Quite nicely and sort of straps your Foot in nicely without being Uncomfortable the other the midsole um It's this nitrogen infused midsole That's commonplace across pretty much All of um Puma shoes now it and it's Really good it it it's got a nice nice Touch of cushioning to it which is more Than I would have expected from a shoe This lean so there is a little bit of Cushioning mainly in the back of the Shoe Um and the outsole is one of the leaner Puma grip outsoles as you can imagine
From this shoe but it's still quite Formidable Um there's a lot of outsole on this for Such a lightweight shoe and it's very Good it's probably not the Um the thickest it's not going to be the Thickest one you get on a Puma running Shoe some of the other shoes like the Magnify uh Nitro 2 have a really thick Wedge of um outside rubber on them this Is a bit leaner but there's still loads On it it's really good at gripping Um turning Corners if you're doing Intervals and you're doing a lot of back And forth and things like that turning Around Um it's great for that it's just it's Puma grip it's fantastic Um I've never tried a bad Puma grip Outsole on a shoe so that's fantastic For that Overall all of that just makes for a Really nice lean versatile shoe which is Very good for those people that want Something that just really focuses on The um the shorter runs but want Something that maybe is a little bit More versatile and isn't just like a Racing flat there's a bit more to the Shoe than what you'd get from a Completely minimal shoe Okay so my verdict on the Puma liberate Nitro 2 is that it's a great shoe if if You're the sort of person that wants a
Lightweight fast uh training shoe or Racing shoe if you if you if you like Racing in um Older school style lightweight shoes as Opposed to more modern complex ratios This is a great option Um and if this was like five six years Ago this would this would be up there With some of the the best lightweight Racers out there so if you're looking For a fast shoe and you don't really Want to complex shoe possibly for Training this is a really good option I Would say that it's versatile in the Fact that you can probably do a lot up To a certain point so if you're running 5Ks 10ks and you want a really light Shoe to do that with and you can do a Bit of speed work but you might want to Run a bit slower like me doing intervals Up to an hour or something like that It's good for that it's it's a good Solitude not that expensive and you get A bit more from it in terms of Cushioning than you would in some Alternatives Um other than that I do think it's a bit Of an issue I definitely wouldn't Suggest this shoe to a lot of the people I know Um who are who ask me about shoes so I've got a lot of friends who have Started running or are fairly new to Running
Um I think this is a little bit Advanced For them I don't think I'd buy this shoe Unless I knew I was a fan of more Minimal shoes Um and I knew that I didn't necessarily Need a lot of cushioning in a shoe so For that reason I would say that it's a Certain type of person that would really Like this shoe and it's part of a Rotation I don't think I know many People that would need this in their Rotation Um but yeah if you're running track and Stuff like that it is a solid shoe tab In your collection and it's not that Expensive either Alternatives that you Might want to look at for this um so a Lot of the Alternatives at the moment do Tend to have plates in them so you look At something like the super comp Um pater which is quite similar in the Way it feels but the hat does have a Plate in although I don't really notice The play that much in that shoe so it Does feel to me quite similar this is Just a lot more flexible it's a very Flexible shoe so um if you think it Really boils down to that and obviously This is a lot cheaper than that shoe as Well so if it was between this and super Comp Pacer I'd probably go for this just For the price and what you actually get From it another shoe that you might look Out for this is the soccer Nick envira
14. Um that feels a little a bit more Cushioned very similar in what it's Trying to do it's quite flexible Lightweight I'd go for this one Um over that I just think this is a more Solid shoe it just feels like there's a Lot more to it it's more comfortable Just feels like you can run a bit faster In it Um and just feels a bit better qualities For me than the Canberra 14. I Definitely go for this over over that Shoe Um so yeah so there we go that's the uh Puma liberate Nitro too that's it for me On this full review from Puma liberate Nitro 2 thanks a lot for watching don't Forget to like subscribe click the bell And all those other things and check the Channel out for all the other videos You've got from nice Road and trail Shoes as well as running headphones and Watches out at the moment and if you're Going to caption below you can also find A link to our podcast that comes out Normally once a month but we're actually Doing specials now where we're doing Interviews with some other people in the World of running thanks for watching Catch you next time [Music] [Applause]
